outcomes

One of the hardest things is when you have to decide whether to support someone or not. Is President Trump a person we should back? Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell, Jr. think so. What about Kamala Harris or Corey Booker? In my community, do we support Phil Dorr or not?

The followers of John the Baptist had a choice like that. John himself wondered if Jesus was the Messiah. In fact, in Luke 7, he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus directly. Here’s how Jesus responded, in Luke 7:22-23: 

“So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’”

Jesus’ answer seems to be this: “Look at what you see happening. Does it fulfill prophecy or not? Is it consistent with what you know about God or not? Does it result in good things or bad things?” 

Jesus subtly points out a key truth: Satan never does good. Later in Luke 7 he acknowledges that people look at what he says and think he’s a drunkard or crazy, or worse. But, he says to John’s followers, don’t I back up what I say by what I do?

No one does the good that Jesus did; God is, after all, the ultimate source of every good thing. But I think this is a legitimate measure of whether public people deserve our support. Are they, in fact, doing good? And the best way to know is to look at the outcomes, especially as measured by the ones God has shown a fierce affection for, the widow and orphan and alien. In other words, the ones that are easiest to abuse because they have no power. 

Does what Kamala Harris or Corey Booker do result in good things for people who can’t speak for themselves? Do Donald Trump and the MAGA crowd look out for the weakest in our society, and our world? Is Phil Dorr concerned for the hurting people in our community?

I can’t answer those questions, but I submit them to you as things worth asking. After all, if Jesus himself said, “Judge me by my works and their outcomes,” isn’t that a valid yardstick for every other person?